GETTING HELP OFF THE SHELF

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 25, 1993                   TAG: 9301250007
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
GETTING HELP OFF THE SHELF
If those people in Washington expect you to pay taxes, the least they could do is make them understandable.
With its newly expanded Publication 17, the Internal Revenue Service is trying. The booklet, "Your Federal Income Tax," provides all the tax information that the vast majority of taxpayers will need to fill out their 1992 returns.
But it still isn't simple. After all, the booklet is 352 pages long.
For those who want more information, the IRS has dozens of specialized publications, free for the asking. They offer advice on topics ranging from the tax consequences of selling your home to tax treaties with other countries.
If you feel the need for some outside advice and tips you won't find in the IRS publications, several tax-return guides are available in the $12-to-$15 range in bookstores. All include numerous sample forms.
"The Ernst & Young Tax Guide" takes a novel approach, inserting its own interpretations among paragraphs from the official IRS instructions.
If you need a sprinkling of humor as you carry out the annual chore, consider "The Money 1993 Income Tax Handbook," by former IRS auditor Mary L. Sprouse and editors of Money magazine. It includes 14 pages of work sheets.
"Guide to Income Tax Preparation" from Consumer Reports Books is a model of clarity with scores of tips and notes printed in color on the left of each page.
"J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax" is offered for the 56th year, providing advice, a glossary of the language of taxation and special symbols to alert you to recent court decisions, changes in the law and items that raise a red flag with IRS auditors.
You also may use a toll-free telephone number to ask technical questions of the IRS. Or, try the IRS Tele-Tax system, which offers pre-recorded advice on dozens of tax topics.
The Tele-Tax telephone and subject numbers are listed in the instructions that accompanied your tax forms. Service is available 24 hours a day for people with Touch-Tone phones and during regular office hours for others.
IRS publications may be ordered by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB